As the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, heads for its presidential primaries, I think it’s important to remind one of the leading contenders, Bola Tinubu, of this: Never overplay your luck as history has shown us it usually ends in humiliating defeats. Ask Idi Amin Dada of Uganda. Ask Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe. Ask Omar Al-Bashir of Sudan or even Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen. They’ll all tell you how not to overplay your luck.
For more than three decades, you’ve been visible in the Nigerian political space – serving various offices and playing the role of “godfather”. It’s time to go and rest. It’s better to retire as a kingmaker.
It’s important to state that “I made this, I made that – it’s my turn” isn’t the yardstick of determining who becomes the next president. Nigeria is neither a monarchy nor a mafia state.
At this point, we need competent, healthy, and serious-minded leaders (even if they’re ice cream and popcorn sellers) who’ll put down workable policies to tackle the nation’s myriad problems not entitled bosses.
And please, stop sending urchins to issue threats, take jabs at people you think you’ve helped while at the same time calling for free and fair elections and quoting verses from holy books eulogising the virtue of keeping promises and damning betrayals.
If you continue, all the imaginary figures they’ve let you chase (from El-Rufai to GEJ) would be a child’s play. They’ll show you that you’re just an over-hyped local champion who’s been made to believe he’s a political genius. They’ll serve you your own medicine of Lagos-type elections. They’ll retire you into oblivion after national humiliation.
After all, Nigerians don’t know those you’ve helped and therefore wouldn’t be able to sympathise with you fully. Already, many are suggesting that you should go and get your reward from those you think you’ve helped not with the future of Nigerian youths.
Go and parasitise Lagos in peace. You can also retain the title of statesman if you like. Some will remember you as the Jagaban. Don’t end up like the individuals mentioned above, who overplayed their hands and fell from grace.
In closing, stop making your ambition look like it’s an “us” versus “them” affair. It does more damage to your cause.
Nigerians thank you for “transforming Lagos” and nurturing “talents” as you and your supporters claim. Forcing yourself on them now will sink the quicksand and mark the end of an empire.
As the Hausa say, idan kunne yaji, to gangan jiki ya tsira (roughly translating to “the ear that takes wise counsel saves the whole body).
Labaran Yusuf,
Jos, Plateau state
